


Aftershocks

by Subsequent



Series: Seismic [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-09 19:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14722241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subsequent/pseuds/Subsequent
Summary: The thing is, Chloe wasn't even surprised. Not really.Post 3x24





	1. Chapter 1

The thing is, Chloe wasn't even surprised. Not really. 

Even as she staggered backwards, her mind gone blank as she stared at - at - 

There was still a part of her, distant, that simply thought: _of course._

It wasn’t the quite the shock of a revelation or fear she felt, even as her world tunnelled down to focus on Lucifer’s face, her body kicking adrenaline into her system, the moment spinning out as suddenly everything seemed to be in slow-mo. No. There was an overwhelming sense of - confirmation. Acceptance, because on some level, she had always known, even as it took until the moment on the rooftop for her to start to internalise it. It was like turning to the last chapter in a book - she'd put together enough of the clues subconsciously that when the twist ending was revealed, it wasn't unexpected. 

It was still hard to take. 

_(Somewhere, even deeper, there's a tiny part of her that blooms into hurt and anger - that he didn't prove it earlier, that he didn't trust her, that he clearly didn't mean to be caught out even now. That bit, she shoves far, far down to be examined another day. It's not productive now. It won't help. But it's there, and it hurts almost as much as the bullet she took earlier)._

“Detective?” Lucifer asked again, now sounding unsure in a way that he almost never was. He took half a step towards her, raising his hand, before his eyes flicked to the burnt skin as it came into view, and he froze, eyes wide and suddenly - terrified, she thought. He stopped moving. His throat worked, as if he caught his words before they escaped his mouth, and he stayed silent.

She took another step away. The back of her heel caught the bottom of the stairs behind her, and she half sat, half collapsed, backwards, heavily, still staring at him. 

He stared back, fear written on every line of his face. 

Deep breaths, she thought, still distant. That was the way to go. In, and out.

Right. 

Focus. 

She was a cop. This was an active crime scene. She could see bodies unmoving on the ground around her, but that didn't mean they were out of danger yet. Pierce was able to get four people loyal enough to shoot for him - potentially kill for him - to this place in the scant few hours since they'd started trying to flush him out. He had a network, and clearly a big one at that. It was quiet now, but that didn’t mean there weren’t still gunmen here, or or that there weren’t reinforcements on the way.

She had a job to do and a situation to deal with. All of - all of this, of him, could come later. 

She drew in one last deep, shuddering breath. Lucifer was still frozen, watching her from a distance with his hand half outstretched, paused in the act of reaching out to her, hesitant and quiet as she processed. So different to his normal fidgety exuberance. It didn't suit him. 

“We're -” she started, and it came out unsteady, uncertain. She cleared her throat and tried again.

“We're going to talk about this” she said, much clearer, and stood, finding her feet, taking a few steps forward. Lucifer tracked her with his eyes and shifted slightly, but didn't otherwise move. “We're going to talk about this -” and she gestured to his face, “and this -”, the floor now, littered with broken feathers, “and all of it”, a vague motion towards up and down, “but not right now.”

Lucifer nodded, slowly, lowering his arm in increments. He looked away, avoided her gaze, hunched inwards slightly, and looked so lost that for a second that she, mind still slightly reeling and reacting on instinct, closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him. He startled, almost pulling back, hands hovering awkwardly behind her, before slowly resting them on her back. Loosely, though, as if he wanted to assure her that he wouldn't trap her, that she was still free to leave. To run. Wasn't that what he had said he expected her to do - said just last night? The night before? An eternity ago, now. 

“I thought they'd killed you,” she said, resting her forehead against his chest for just a second. He was warmer than usual, and she could see red through what she assumed were bullet holes. No evidence of bleeding, though, and he was upright, and talking. “Are you okay?” 

He hesitated again. 

“I - I didn’t want to show you like this,” he said, above her, and he sounded half choked, “I - why are you still here? Most people don’t - don’t take this well.”

It wasn't a direct answer, which was answer enough in itself. She sucked in air, and blew it out again in a hard sigh, shifting so that her cheek was against the ruined fabric of his shirt. _Later._ Years of training were kicking in, hard won habits that carried officers through stress and to the other side, up until the point where it was safe to come apart at the seams. _Which_ , she reminded herself, _is not right now._ She pulled back slightly, wiping at her eyes. He let her go easily. 

“I don't know what exactly happened here. But I do know you, Lucifer. And I trust you. You're my partner, and even if - even if we have a _lot_ to talk about” and she caught his eye, still red and gold and _glowing_ \- “we need to put it aside and focus on the situation. Because right now we're still in danger, and we need to get out of here and call this in. We're running out of time before someone who heard the gunshots makes the report for us, and we’re caught in the middle of - of this”. She glanced around the room, at the broken window, the blood, the bodies. 

Technically they couldn't even afford the time they'd already taken, and her gut was screaming at her to _go_ , that they were too exposed, that this place was Pierce’s home turf, not theirs - but to be fair. She figured she was allowed at least a minute to react to - well. 

Lucifer nodded, red eyes fading back to brown as his usual appearance returned. He still looked slightly afraid, as if he was worried that if he said the wrong thing or moved the wrong way she'd bolt, but he was slightly more animated now, less of the statue he'd been earlier when he'd been waiting for her reaction. It was a start. 

“Most of the gunmen are unconscious,” he volunteered, “One decided to disappear, which was the sensible course of action. Cain is -” and he glanced over his shoulder, looking down at the body on the floor, “dealt with. I haven't seen anyone else here, other than you.”

She could feel her mind slowly kick back into gear, and she stepped backwards even further, glancing over the room again, assessing the situation. 

Pierce was down, knife sticking out of his chest. Eyes open and unseeing. Her heart gave a lurch to see it - she knew, now more than ever, what he was capable of, that he had killed Charlotte and had tried to kill more, but some part of her still saw him as Marcus, her ex. Someone she thought she had known. 

Three others she definitely didn’t know, on the floor. Bullet casings everywhere. Feathers, too, which she still wasn’t going to think too hard about. Too many entrances and exits to the room to safely judge all of them as clear, and even though she’d ran through one of them earlier, she knew she’d been too focused on the moment to fully take notice of what she’d rushed past. Or who.

“There could be more on the way,” she said, starting to move herself, pulling her gun out her holster and keeping an ear out for movement. “And Marcus knew Dan and Ella were with us. We need to warn them. If he was targeting you, he'd have eyes on Lux and the penthouse, too. I still don’t know how we’re going to explain - this - and I don’t even know what happened, but - we need to get out of here.”

Lucifer looked at her and around the room, seeming to come to a decision. Chloe was starting to edge towards the way that they’d first entered, but he held up a hand, pausing her. 

“I may,” he started “I may have a solution that would take care of both of those problems at the same time.”

“Okay,” she said, waiting for him to elaborate, before Lucifer seemed to stiffen in pain, and hissed out a low breath as he rolled his shoulders - and abruptly, the feathers that she’d been ignoring made a lot more sense. 

And so did the blood on the floor. 

“Oh, Lucifer,” she breathed, moving forward, instinctively reaching out to touch before dropping her hand back, “How are you still upright?”

He was breathing hard, and his wings - actual _wings_ \- flared for a moment before drooping. He didn’t answer. 

They looked shredded. She didn’t know birds, heck, she didn’t even know if she could compare birds wings to - these - but she knew they shouldn’t look like _this_ , in disarray and coated in red. She had a sudden memory of the auction, of feathers white and gleaming and perfect - and - 

Next steps. One thing at a time. Focus, Chloe. Deal with the metaphysical aspects _later_. 

“Lucifer, we need to get you to - a hospital?” No - probably not - they wouldn’t know what to do with this - “a Vet? God, I don’t -”

“Not right now, Detective,” he cut her off, still breathing hard, and the lack of indignation about the vet comment just made her _more worried._ “Right now we need to get out of here, and back to Ms Lopez and Detective Espinoza, both of which can be accomplished quickly, as long as you don’t mind being carried.”

What could she say?

“Okay,” she said, reholstering her gun, moving closer, one ear still listening for movement elsewhere. She could have sworn she heard a clatter, somewhere, but it was distant enough and quiet enough that it didn’t seem to be a threat. Or at least, not a threat at the moment. “Are you sure you can - are you sure you’re okay?” 

He still didn’t answer her, suddenly swiftly turning to Marcus, ducking down. He grabbed the handle of the knife from where it was buried and pulled it up and _out_ , leaving her to whisper indignantly, “Lucifer! We can’t take the murder weapon with us! What are you doing!?”

“It’s a hell-forged weapon,” he told her, standing back up, revealing the knife to be - one of Maze’s. Of course it was. “We can’t leave this for people to play with. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about it, but -” and he looked down to Marcus again “my luck with leaving this sort of thing to be found by humans hasn’t had the best of consequences in the past.”

She wanted to ask him about that, about the history it implied, but she knew they were running out of time. 

“Alright,” she said. “Alright, alright, we don’t have luxury to debate this at the moment. Um. How do you want me to -”

“Just - if you -”

After an awkward shuffle of limbs - and wings - she found herself in a tight embrace with Lucifer, his hand supporting the back of her neck and one arm wrapped around her waist. 

“You can close your eyes, if you like,” said Lucifer, his cheek against hers, “I don’t actually know what this will look like for you. Are you ready to go?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she replied, nerves starting to jitter just a little, both for this and for _him_. He was still a little stiff when moving, which for Lucifer telegraphed to the world just how much pain he was actually in. 

“Then - let’s go, Detective.”

A beat of his wings. Pressure, as if she was underwater. Her ears popped, her sense of _up_ and _down_ was completely lost in an instant. 

But she kept her eyes open. If there was one thing she was going to be, it wasn’t going to be in the dark. 

Ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic in over ten years. Props for being such an excellent fandom.
> 
> ♥


	2. Chapter 2

In contrast, Dan and Ella definitely _were_ surprised when both Lucifer and Chloe landed in the penthouse. 

Well. Less of a land and more of a controlled crash, really. 

They didn’t skid to a halt or burst through a window, but as the overwhelming sense of _pressure_ and _light_ around Chloe abruptly disappeared, Lucifer wobbled on his feet, tried to find his footing, and ended up half folding around her instead, his grip relaxing as she found herself supporting most of his weight. It was uncomfortable - he was taller than she was and he was carrying extra appendages on his back - but she caught him, tried to keep him steady. 

There was noise behind her, two loud exclamations - one in spanish that seemed to have burst into prayer, and a very confused ‘What the _fuck_ ’ from Dan, and then there were hands grabbing at her, pulling her away, someone calling her name, even as she tried to resist, slapping them away. They grabbed her and _pulled_. She stumbled back.

Now lacking her support, Lucifer sunk to his knees, undignified, wings trailing on the floor either side of him, a few small feathers drifting away and scuttling under the furniture. 

He looked between all three of them, but mostly at Dan and Ella.

“Fear not, mortals,” he managed, half a grin on his face at the biblical allusion, but underneath that was a very real worry, his eyes guarded as if he was expecting a sudden rush of pitchforks and burning torches from _them_ , an irony that she was very much aware of. Her heart broke for him, just a little.

Dan's would-be-killer made a choked noise behind them. They ignored him.

There was a beat of silence.

“Chloe,” started Dan, gripping her arm and wild-eyed, not looking at her - looking at Lucifer, who after his pronouncement had simply closed his eyes and bowed his head, apparently just focused on breathing, “What the - what the _fuck_ is happening here?”

“Those are real,” said Ella staring, as wide-eyed as Dan but bouncing back faster, clutching at the cross on her necklace and edging forward a little. “I’ve seen fake wings, even good ones, and they don’t move like that. Those are real. He wasn’t lying. Oh my god. There is a God. Lucifer actually is - he’s _Lucifer_.” 

“They could be fake wings!” argued back Dan, still staring, not ready to accept it. “I don’t know! They could be cosplay! With electronics! For movement! He could afford it! Sure, it’d be weird, but - but - they have to be fake, right? Please tell me I didn't actually just see you two appear out of thin air”. He sounded almost pleading.

“I made him go to _mass_ ,” said Ella at the same time as Dan, quieter, ignoring him and Chloe both, some dawning realisation on her face as her eyes remained fixed on the kneeling figure in front of her. Her hands rose to cover her mouth.

“They’re not,” said Chloe in reply to Dan, “and you did”. She gently unwound Dan’s fingers from her arm before walking back over, placing herself between Lucifer and the both of them. She wasn’t afraid for him, or afraid that they’d attack - but - it was a shock, and both of them had much less exposure to his _weirdness_ on a daily basis than she had. Lucifer still wasn’t responding - she wasn’t sure if it was pain or his own, delayed, shock. She wasn’t an idiot, and she knew that there was only one person in that room who could have killed Marcus. Had to have killed Marcus. And the Lucifer she knew wasn’t a murderer. It took something out of you, when you took a life. She’d killed before, in the line of duty. She knew.

That, or flying here had affected him more than she'd realised. She already knew that the quieter he got the greater the pain he was in. A papercut was met with drama, a knife to the shoulder barely warranted a comment. 

Linda was going to be getting a lot more business after this, she could already tell.

“They’re real. We just - we just flew here. From the loft. Marcus tried to kill us. He’s - he’s dead,” she said, her voice cracking on the last word.

The hitman made a muffled noise again. They all ignored him, again. 

Both of them still weren’t looking at her, instead focused on the wings, though Dan’s eyes darted to hers for a moment.

“Dead?”

“Dead,” she confirmed. “He was targeting Lucifer, wanted him gone. Said something about how he couldn’t start a new life with him on his tail.” 

“Well, understandable, if he's the actual devil,” said Dan, still somewhat on automatic. “Who _wouldn't_ run?”

Lucifer almost audibly flinched.

“Dan!” said Chloe, heated - she wasn’t mad, but they definitely had to clear this up right now. “He _saved_ me from Marcus. He's the reason I'm alive right now. It's still just him. Still the Lucifer we've always known. Just with more… proof.”

“But - but why us?” said Dan, confused, addressing it to her first and then turning to Lucifer properly “Why us? Why the LAPD? Why even help us, live with us?”

“I'm not here for your souls, if that's what you're asking, Daniel,” said Lucifer, opening his eyes now, focusing on his face, some of his usual posture returning. “I'm retired. As I've said before. Honestly, does no-one pay attention to what I say?”

“Right, right,” said Dan. “Because my first thought when someone tells me that they're the devil is _sure,_ that they totally _are_. What the _hell,_ man?”

“Quite so,” said Lucifer, another half grin ghosting his face, there and then gone.

Dan threw his hands up in the air and gave a laugh that was more about shock than amusement, before walking over to the bar and sitting on one of the stools, placing his head in his hands. He gave it half a second, then his arms dropped back down and he reached over the counter for a bottle of something. He took a swig. Chloe shot him a sympathetic look and he grimaced in reply, but he didn't look too bad. He'd be fine, she was sure.

The second it was clear that Dan wasn't going to reply further, Ella burst in, almost vibrating on the spot with excitement.

“I have SO many questions,” she said, a slow grin growing on her face “I mean, obviously a lot of the pop culture around this stuff is wrong but - how much did we get right? How much is true? What about the bible? Or Jesus?” 

“Maybe not now, Ms Lopez,” said Lucifer, pushing himself back into a better position and managing to get up enough to sit on the couch. “I promise to answer questions later, but for now, we still have a situation to deal with. We've just left behind most of the danger, but it's still not over.”

“He's right,” said Chloe, realising with start that they really should be securing this place, possibly staying out of the line of sight from the windows, and definitely doing something with the hitman, but - Lucifer was injured, and that took priority for now, weirdness or no.

“We need to be careful. Marcus was targeting Lucifer, which means he probably has this place under surveillance - or at least the entry and exits - not to mention our guy over there,” she said, nodding towards the bedroom, where the hitman was no doubt unabashedly eavesdropping.

Breath in, breath out. 

“Okay, new plan,” she said. “Lucifer, Ella and I need to look at your wings and see if we can do something for them. Is there, like, wing first-aid? Can we google something? Dan - call the department, tell them that there was an incident with Marcus and where. Don’t tell them about our involvement just yet. It will probably come up later and they're definitely going to ask us why we didn't tell them everything now, but just - stick to the basics, the bare minimum. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Dan nodded, seeming to spring partially back into life with something to now _do_ , visibly shelving the questions he had and reaching for his phone. He slid off the stool, clearly intending to head a bit further into the apartment, where it would be quieter and away from all of - all of this. 

Once this was over, they were definitely all raiding Lux’s bar. 

Chloe turned, dropping into a squat, hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. Ella took a few steps forward and hung back for a second, before darting forward to give Lucifer a hug, avoiding the roots of his wings. Just as hesitant as when she'd hugged him earlier, he gently placed his hands on Ella’s back and patted awkwardly. He looked as if this was the furthest thing from what he had expected, but he didn’t complain. She felt a sudden surge of love for him, the same love she’d been trying to push down for much of the past few months. Despite everything, it was still there, they were still there. They’d be okay.

“I’m _so_ glad you’re both okay,” said Ella, echoing her thoughts, pulling back and looking at Chloe too. “What happened to - to cause this?”

“It’s a long story,” sighed Lucifer, “A very long one, but I suspect the pertinent bit that _you’re_ after is the bit where I was targeted by some very unpleasant gentlemen with guns.”

Ella’s eyes went wider than they already were and she sat back, assessing the damage.

Chloe moved her hands to Lucifer's face, cupping it gently, guiding it to meet her gaze.

“How can we help with this?” she asked, jerking her head to indicate the two wings either side of him. “Is there someone we can see? Who knows wing stuff - like - a back-alley veterinarian?”

“Back-alley veterinarian? What am I, a bloody pet bird? I think not,” he huffed in indignation, and then winced at the movement, somewhat detracting from his point. Chloe's thumb stroked along his cheekbone and he lent in to the touch for a second before realising what he was doing. He shot her an apologetic glance and moved his head back. Chloe dropped her hands to her thighs.

“No - no - that's actually not a bad idea!” Ella exclaimed. “There totally have to be some _somewhere_ in LA. There are tons of people keeping exotic pets that they don't have permits for - or knowledge for, really - and they'd want to avoid the proper clinics, and I'm sure we could find one who would keep silent out of fear of all their other practices being dragged into the light too. We could get one to take a look!”

Chloe was already nodding, thinking along the same lines, when Lucifer cut in.

“They're not needed, I assure you. My wings should heal on their own. Certainly, there was no getting rid of the things earlier, so I doubt a few bullets will keep them out of service for long.”

“How - no getting rid of them earlier?” Chloe started, but Ella was just a little faster at getting a word in. 

“Dude, I don't know how - how Angel, or, like, Devil wings work, but these do not look okay. And even if you do have freaky healing powers, we can't let the skin heal over any bullets that are left in there. We have to get them _out._ ”

“I'll be fine, I assure you”, he said, a grin pulled over his teeth. It would have been more convincing if it wasn’t too tight at the edges and accompanied by a few extra lines gathering at the corner of his eyes. 

“That doesn't mean you're fine _now_ ,”said Chloe, used to his evasions, “You almost collapsed on me before. Just getting us over here and you were already almost out of it.”

“I appreciate the concern, ladies,” he said “I really do. But no. No hospitals, no vets, and no need for you to provide first aid. What happened before was an aberration. And I'm already healing, look”. He stretched out his wings, slightly. 

They looked. 

His wings trembled with the effort of splaying out, still covered in blood. 

Both Chloe and Ella looked back at him.

“You’ll just have to believe me,” he said, “you know I don't lie,” and in an undertone, softly, “now more than ever, you know.”

Chloe didn't like it. She really, really didn't. She could tell Ella didn't like it either, but Lucifer was stubborn at the best of times, and this was definitely more of a ‘worst times’ situation. Her gut was doing that twisting thing it tended to do when she saw someone she loved was hurt, only amplified because of who, exactly, it was for, but -

“Fine,” she said. “But if you collapse again, we WILL get you help, whether you like it or not.”

He didn't look happy, but he nodded. 

Dan took that moment to walk back over, tapping his phone against his leg and frowning.

“They sent out a squad to investigate, and they said they'll be in contact,” he said before they could ask. “But if Marcus is dead - self defence or not, we have a lot of questions we're going to need to answer. And my reputation is already down the drain since Palmetto Street. I don't think we'll get a lot of leeway with this, especially considering Marcus was a fellow cop. We don’t know who he had ties to in the office. He was a recent transfer, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have connections.”

“We'll work it out,” said Chloe, rising from her position. “We have to - oh god, I shot him,” she said, eyes gone wide, as the implications suddenly hit her. “I shot him and I left the scene. They're going to think it was _me_ who killed him.”

“Don't worry, Detective,” said Lucifer, still on the couch behind her. “I won't let you take the blame. The guilt lies solely with me.”

She shot him a look, but he didn't meet her eyes. 

“I have to account for the bullet I used - we’re tracked on these things, it can't just be _missing_ from my magazine _,_ especially since _-_ I shot Marcus. Oh god. We're going to be in court over this for the rest of my life. What about Trixie?” and then suddenly, “Oh, no. She should be safe, but we don't know, I need to check -” Marcus wasn't - hadn't wanted to - target _her,_ right? 

“Uh, guys?” asked Ella, standing up now too, nodding towards the bedroom. “Maybe we shouldn't discuss this while Mr Evil Henchman is listening in?”

She had a point. Another thing Chloe had missed in the heat of the moment. _Focus, damnit._ She had done well so far - she knew she was going to be a mess later, but she still needed to get through the mess right now for there to _be_ a safe moment later for her to fall apart in.

Dan's face hardened.

“I can take care of that,” he said, and moved, hard and fast and angrily across to the bedroom.

“Dan!” cried Chloe, running after him, hands now around _his_ shoulders, now pulling _him_ back. “We can't kill him, and we can't hurt him, Dan,” she warned. “He's still in our care. We're _accountable_ for him.” 

The hitman sneered slightly, obvious even despite the duct tape around his mouth, and never in her life did she so suddenly want to punch someone more, but no. Protocol. 

Well, mostly protocol.

“Do you have sleeping pills here?” she addressed to Lucifer, “I know you keep a lot of things around for your guests.”

His eyes widened as he realised what she meant, and he gave her a grin - the first genuine one she'd seen from him since she the moment they’d had together in the alleyway. Her stomach did that twisting thing again. 

“I like your thinking, Detective. Yes, I do. Check the medicine cabinet in the guest bathroom.”

“Dan,” said Chloe, nodding to him - she wasn't about to keep him around the hitman more than necessary while he was still worked up. His fists opened and closed once, then twice, and then the fight drained out of him.

“Yeah,” he said “I'll - I'll go get them.” 

“Right,” said Lucifer, as Dan was on the move. “In the meantime, I’ll just -” and he did that shoulder-roll again, somewhat slower this time, and there was definitely still a flash of pain across his face as his wings disappeared. Ella was watching, open mouthed and delighted, if concerned, and Chloe stared too. Wondering if there was any way she could have seen it earlier, if there was anything obvious she’d missed, overlooked in the time that she’d worked with him. She already had a mental list of all his _weirdness_ that was now explained, but there’d been nothing that had tipped her over the edge until now. She was going to be re-evaluating things for a while, she thought. 

Dan walked back into the room, took a brief second to stare at Lucifer’s sudden lack of wings, and then shook his head, dismissing it, moving back to Chloe. 

“Pills,” he said, and showed her the packet, “and I got a cup of water to help wash it down, and another for him to swallow the tablets from”. He set it all down on the bedside table, already moving to get everything prepared. 

The hitman had narrowed his eyes at them, mouth still covered in tape, clearly thinking about protesting. 

“It’s this or we punch you unconscious,” said Chloe. It wasn’t, really, but he didn’t need to know that. Though on the other hand, they didn’t really have a lot of options here, and they needed him either asleep or gone, so hey. Protocol was already half out the window with most of what they’d done today. She was very, very tempted, and now she could say she had a literal devil on her shoulder, so…

She left Dan to it, pulling out her phone and checking her messages. Nothing from Trixie, but that was, if anything, a good sign. She called her number, phone to her ear, which seemed to be the signal for Lucifer and Ella to check theirs, quiet settling across the apartment. 

She could only hope it wasn’t the quiet before the storm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is entirely the fault of those who left comments yesterday, so thank you. I stand by what I said about this being one of the best fandoms ♥
> 
> I don't know if this will be continued - but then I didn't plan any of this fic, so hey!


	3. Chapter 3

Trixie was fine. Thank - someone.

Chloe realised she was going to have to rethink quite a lot of her automatic phrasing.

The ball of anxiety that had built at the base of her throat, which had started the second she realised that Trixie might be a target, had unwound, though not completely - there was still a thread left behind, a background hum that likely wasn’t going to disappear until she could see her baby girl again. 

“Trixie’s with friends, and then Mom’s going to take the next flight here and pick her up,” Chloe announced, looking at Dan when she did. He’d migrated to the couches, hunched over, looking about as drained as she felt. She came over and joined him, sinking into the soft leather, shoulder to shoulder. “I tried Maze but she didn't respond, and none of the usual babysitters are available.”

“Are you sure your mom can make it?” Dan replied “She hasn’t been the most reliable in the past, Chloe.”

“I called it in as a family emergency. She didn’t like it, but she said she’d do it. There’s still a risk that Pierce has someone watching her, but - I have to hope he doesn’t. This all happened too fast. And I don’t think he was targeting me”. 

_I did love you,_ he’d said. _I **still** love you._

He had a very strange way of showing it. 

Chloe shook her head. She was exhausted, and starving, and her chest hurt from where the bullet had impacted earlier. Adrenaline and habit had carried her through much of the past hour, but there was only so much that both of them could do, and her reserves were running low. 

Lucifer had left to go and check Lux and the surrounding area - if there was anyone else here, watching them, then there wouldn’t be soon. Ella had disappeared into the kitchen, saying something about getting food for everyone, but that had been twenty minutes ago and she hadn’t been back since. The hitman was out cold, moved to another room entirely. They could hear snoring very faintly in the distance, and while part of her wanted to laugh at the incongruity of the noise, the rest of her wanted to join him, sleep for a week. 

“Chloe,” said Dan, shifting a little to face her side-on, “I have to ask - are you okay? What happened back there? And what happened with - with Lucifer?” He still sounded tentative about that, just a little on edge, but not afraid. She was glad.

Chloe shook her head again, slower this time, staring at the floor. 

“I don’t know, Dan,” she said, and then jumping in again as he opened his mouth to reply, “I don’t. Pierce had us surrounded, had four other people lying in wait for us. It must have been planned in advance if he had time to get personnel and supplies, it wasn't reactionary, Dan. He - he was going to kill Lucifer - but I drew on him, and they - one of them shot me -”

“He _shot_ you?” asked Dan, startling, suddenly much more animated, turning to fully face her, his hands reaching out, “What the hell, Chloe? You didn’t think to mention this earlier? Are you hurt? Where did he hit you? Why are you not -”

“Dan,” said Chloe, and then louder when he continued over her, “Dan! I’m okay. Really. I had my vest on, my personal one”. She pulled the collar of her shirt down again, revealing the ugly, mushroomed metal. “I’m going to have a bruise for like, two months, but I’m okay.”

“Chloe, even with the vest, this is _serious_ ,” said Dan, “We should get you checked out with a medical team or _something_. You could have a broken rib, or -” 

“No,” she said. “I don’t, I promise, I’m fine. We’re fine. I’d know if something was broken, I don’t need anyone called. I’ll take a painkiller and it’ll be okay.”

“Chloe -”

“ _No._ ”

Dan subsided, lifting his hands either side of him in submission, before dropping them back to his lap again. His fingers were twitching, fidgeting. 

“Alright,” he said “You’re just as bad as _he_ is, though”. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and then reopening them, stilling, focusing back on her. “Alright. You were saying?”

She had smiled at him, for the last comment, a quick, small thing, but then it slid back off her face and she was back to pensive. Thinking. She propped her hands up to support her chin, elbows on her knees, staring into the middle distance of the penthouse. 

“I was shot. I think it knocked me out for a bit, winded me - I wasn’t all there, wasn’t able to focus - but - Dan, I’m pretty sure I heard him _screaming_.”

She swallowed. 

Dan looked a little lost, but nodded at her to keep going, supportive.

“And then I woke up. On a helipad. A rooftop, outside, Marcus and the rest of his guys nowhere to be seen, and I just - he got me to safety and then he disappeared, Dan. There was nowhere else on that helipad to go, he _vanished_ in the time it took for me to glance away, it was a few _streets_ away from the loft, and we just - arrived. And then he left. I think he wanted me out of harm's way. I had to run faster than I ever had before just to get back to the scene in time to see -”

She swallowed again and met Dan's eyes. 

“I’m not sure if it’s for me to say, or for him to tell you. Or show you. But it was enough to prove it was true, Dan.” 

A beat of silence again. 

Shortly followed by another faint snore in the distance. 

She snorted at the sound, unable to help herself, the tension in the air breaking. Dan wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a half hug. 

“Yeah, I got that much with the whole ‘appearing from thin air’ thing earlier,” he said, “It’s a lot to process, though. I'm not quite sure it's fully sunk in yet”. He cracked a small grin at her before his phone rang, sudden, loud, blaring, startling them apart at the sound. 

He pulled it out, checking the caller ID and grimacing. Chloe cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes again. Her makeup was probably a mess at this stage, but it was low on the list of priorities she had to worry about. 

“It’s the department,” he said. “They've probably got to the loft, probably checking in with follow up questions and asking where we are. Shit. We should still technically be investigating - investigating what happened to Charlotte,” his shoulders slumped a bit as it seemed to hit him again that she was gone. It was still new, and raw, for all of them. “What do I even tell them?”

“Well, technically speaking, we are investigating it. You’ll think of something,” said Chloe. “I don’t know. You should be out of this mess on grief leave, anyway. It's me and Ella we need to explain. Take the call - I’ll go check on her, and we can work out next steps.”

Dan nodded, already swiping to accept and bringing the phone to his ear. She left him to it. 

 

Chloe couldn't see Ella in the kitchen when she first walked in, and it was a mark of how weird the day had been that her first thought was to _panic,_ her heart skipping a beat. 

There was food out on the counter, some already prepped and some paused in the act of assembly, but none of it looked scattered or as if had been caught in a struggle. Chloe found her breath again. Ella had probably just gone to the bathroom, or to get something from her bag. There were plenty of other rational explanations as to why she wouldn't be in the room. 

Which is why Chloe almost jumped again when she rounded the counter and found Ella on the floor. 

Not slumped over, though, no, thank go- goodness - she had her back against the cupboards instead, knees drawn up, arms around them, head pressed into her knees. Ah. 

Chloe crept closer, quietly, coming to a halt near her and then dropping down to Ella's level. 

“Ella?” she asked quietly, “Is everything okay?” 

She reached out to touch Ella's shoulder and was rewarded with her head raising, facing her properly.

Her eyes were red, and she'd clearly been crying. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's stupid. I _feel_ stupid. But I'm okay.” 

“Stupid?” said Chloe, still quiet, “No, Ella, no. Never. What's wrong?”

“Uh, yes, Ella, yes,” Ella replied, unfolding a little further, “I only missed that the new lieutenant that I was so happy about was a freakin’ mob boss. Only tried to set him up with a friend who he then tried to _kill,_ and now it turns out he might have been actual Cain? From the actual Bible? Uh, although” she said, derailed a little, “I'm going to give myself a pass for that last one, ‘cause I don't think anyone could have seen _that_ coming”. Another pause. “Except maybe Lucifer. Who Pierce _also_ tried to kill. So. You see my point.”

Chloe’s heart broke a little more than it already was, this time for Ella. She knelt down properly, settled in.

“No, Ella, no, no no no, we were all fooled,” she said. “It is _not_ your fault that he did what he did. He was responsible for his own actions, and we _all_ missed it.”

Well. No. 

Lucifer had known. Hadn't told her, not properly, hadn't made it clear. 

_He could have showed me earlier_ a tiny voice said from that distant, hurt part of her, _I saw a glimpse of his face ages ago, but he never showed me outright. I would have believed what he said about - about the Sinnerman then. Why?_

She shoved it aside again. She'd already said to Lucifer that she'd be having a conversation with him later, and this was one of those things she'd worry about _then._

Ella just shook her head. “No,” she said. “He was a jerk from the beginning, I just couldn't see it. Didn't want to see it. Do you know I organised a compliment box for him, and the only thing people had to say was that he had _nice arms_? _Arms,_ Chloe. No one liked him. Guess my judgement wasn’t so great after all.”

She looked so wrung out and tired that Chloe wanted to go back and shoot Pierce again, just for causing that expression on her face. 

“Well,” said Chloe, “I was about to marry him, so at least you weren't alone there.”

A wet huff of laughter. It was a start. 

“And Ella, just because you liked him, that wasn’t a _bad_ thing,” she continued. “You couldn’t have known. I mean, he had to do enough to get the position of a lieutenant in the first place, right? _Someone_ hired him. He fooled everyone, not just you.”

She was making a difference, she could tell. Ella’s usual brightness was returning, her eyes drying a little. 

“C’mon,” Chloe said. “Let's get the rest of the food and go chat to Dan. The department is calling, asking for us, we’ve gotta work out how we're going to play this.”

Ella sniffed again and then nodded, visibly pulling herself together, and then pulling herself up, off the floor. 

“Yeah,” she said “You're right. I'm just so mad that I bought into his _bullshit_ , but - I'm not responsible for what he did, I know.”

“No,” said Chloe, flashing back on her own time with him, the dates, the attention she'd paid him, the relationship they'd had, “You're not.”

 

They trooped back out to the lounge, loaded up with some sandwiches and basic snacks.

Well, what counted for basic from Lucifer's pantry anyway. She was pretty sure that there were professional restaurants that were less well stocked.

She idly wondered if he needed to eat or if he just liked to. Certainly his cupboards were full, but then he usually had guests around, so that didn't mean much. Though whether or not they used the supplies to _eat_ was a different question, and not one that she particularly wanted answered. Annnnd she was not thinking about that right now. Nope. Nuh-uh. 

They had just started talking about next steps while digging in to the food, arrayed on the sofas in a loose circle, when the elevator doors open and Lucifer strode in. 

“All taken care of,” he announced, grinning. “There were a couple of Marcus's little lackies who were watching the perimeter, but they've since departed the premises.”

They looked over at him. 

“What did you do to them?” asked Dan, caught mid chew and hastily swallowing. 

“Let’s just say that they’ve seen the error of their ways,” he said, still grinning. “Consider it a public service. I’d say that they’re all rethinking the consequences of their actions.”

Dan stared at him. He didn’t laugh.

Lucifer's grin faltered just a little, just a crack.

“I didn’t hurt them,” he said, quieter.

“We know,” said Chloe. “We know you wouldn’t, Lucifer.”

He looked at her for a second longer than usual, something in his expression she couldn’t quite pinpoint, before he shook himself, flicking back into his usual exuberance. If it seemed a little too practiced, a little too strained, she didn't comment. 

“Anyway!” he said, “As I was hunting down our would-be miscreants, I got a rather interesting text from Amenadiel.”

He tilted the screen of his phone towards them, allowing Chloe to see a chain of texts, ending in the most recent one - 

(Smiling Face With Halo) (Eyes)

(Devil) (Dove) (Gun) (Bin) (Thumbs Up) (Stopwatch) (Oncoming Police Car)

“What?” she said, bewildered “What on earth is that?”

“Nothing on earth, Detective. It seems like my brother came back from his little detour into the high heavens to help out, if somewhat passive aggressively. Actually, I'm impressed at the ability for my brother to hold a grudge,” Lucifer said, delighted, “I was a bit worried that him getting his wings back might mean he'd go sanctimonious on my arse again.”

Dan and Ella visibly blinked at that as they all took a second to - oh. _Oh._ Amenadiel. Brother. Angel? 

The aftershocks of the revelation were going to keep coming for a while. 

He saw that they weren't getting it and sighed slightly, glancing around at all of them before elaborating “It’s a retaliation to a text I sent much earlier, where I possibly could have been - a little clearer, in my message. It means he saw what happened and helped us with the cleanup.”

“What... kind of cleanup, exactly?” asked Chloe, at the same time Ella went ‘Cleanup?’

Lucifer rolled his eyes at them “You've all had phones much longer than I have, you think you'd be fluent in emoji,” he muttered. He pointed to his screen again and translated. 

_“I saw. Feathers and blood and any remaining proof of the divine has been cleaned up before the police got there.”_

“What now?” said Dan “Feathers at the scene?”

“Yes, Daniel, from my wings, do keep up.”

“He disturbed the crime scene?!” Chloe said, on the edge of flustered. Murder weapon slash hell-blade disappearing was one thing, but having Amenadiel’s DNA all over the place was entirely another. “Lucifer, we can't have someone else's fingerprints and evidence all over the place! Someone's going be processing the room, he'll be caught up in this too!”

Wait. 

“Do angels even have DNA?” she asked, now questioning everything in her life that led up to this point. 

“No-pe,” Lucifer said, popping the ‘p’. “There'll be no evidence he was ever there. Or, now, that _I_ was ever there. If there is one thing Amenadiel is, it is thorough.”

Ella was clearly trying to think this over too, figuring out the implications. 

“How would he have even had time to - cleaning up trace evidence isn't easy, especially if you're trying to remove _all_ of it - it takes _ages,_ take it from the forensics expert, and it's only been - what, an hour since this all went down? Ish?”

“Ah,” said Lucifer “Yes. Well. About that. When my brother got his wings back he apparently got back his other abilities, too.”

“Which areeeee…” Ella followed up with, expectant. 

“He can manipulate time,” he said, and quickly held his hands up in front of him, as if physically blocking Dan's ‘oh come on,’ and Ella's gasp. Chloe just stared at him. “It's true, I swear it. He can slow it, freeze it… and he did, just earlier. Allowed me to have some fun with Marcus's little subordinates, let me tell you. If you see any clothes outside on the pavement, it's not due to any debauchery, but rather because the gentlemen left in a hurry and didn't seem to want to collect the rest of their garments from where I'd placed them for safe keeping.”

There was a glint in his eyes, but it was a mischievous one. Chloe decided not to comment.

“But,” she said “You said he stopped time? Shouldn't you also have been affected? And not, y’know, be aware that he did it?”

“Oh, he did stop time,” Lucifer replied, another grin now angled her way. “But not for me, no. His power doesn't affect celestials.”

They all took a second to digest that. 

“Just when I thought I was getting used to this,” said Ella, trailing off in Spanish again under her breath. 

“Nope, this is still too weird for me,” Dan said, pulling a face. “Also, I'm going to have to have a chat to Amenadiel. Several. Chats. I think I'm looking at some of our previous conversations in a new light now.”

“Tell me about it,” said Chloe, under her breath, and then louder, “Okay. So what - did he clean the crime scene of evidence of just you being there, or of both of us?”

“Ah,” said Lucifer. “Good question, Detective. Amenadiel has always been a little anal about divine proof being found, but I'm not sure if he'd think to clean up evidence that you were there too. Let me check”. He raised his phone again, sending off a quick text. 

A reply was almost instantaneous. Either Amenadiel had his phone in his hands when he first got the text, or he was slowing down time to reply. 

This was not how Chloe imagined her day would go when she got up - oh go - goodness, how long ago now? Since Charlotte happened, since Lucifer happened, since Marcus had happened? 

Her life had been turned inside out and upside down and shaken apart over the course of a few days. And it still wasn't over yet. 

Lucifer read out the texts as they came in. 

_“All evidence either of you left at the scene is gone._ _I removed the feathers from the helipad too. Any rubble with blood has been removed or cleaned. I got help.”_

“What about the bullet? The one that I shot?” Chloe said, thinking out loud. She wasn't sure that this was the best way to approach what had happened, but then… she also didn't want to be staring down the barrel of a year long internal audit about their reaction and approach to Pierce. She knew that there were internal procedures that related to whistleblowing, and chasing down the corruption themselves was _nowhere_ in any standard operating procedures. They had a team for that, specialists, and it wasn’t them.

Plus, she really _really_ wasn't sure how she was going to explain Lucifer's… everything. 

They still had to connect Pierce to the Sinnerman, officially. And then connect him to Charlotte's death. But they could only do that if they weren't placed on forced leave. 

Her gut twisted again. Protocol, procedure, policy, battled with her gut and thoughts around what was _right_ for this situation. She didn't have all the answers. She'd just have to muddle it through. 

“He removed it,” said Lucifer, shaking her out of her thoughts. “ _Removed the bullet Chloe shot._ _We left the clean bullet casings and the missed bullets from Marcus's gang_. _The car you drove over is now parked at Lux. Ignore the dents on the bumper, they're only small._ ”

“He'd still have the injuries,” said Ella slowly, “The bullet wound, whatever state it’s in now. But with the actual slug gone it'll be a lot harder to match it to your gun specifically, Chloe.”

“What about our GPS tracking?” Chloe asked back, still trying to sort through universes of could-go-wrongs in her head. 

“I, uh. May have turned that off for you guys once I knew what was going on with Pierce,” said Ella, looking a bit guilty. “I didn’t ask you about it and I technically shouldn’t even have access to the system, but one of the guys down in the tech team - well, y’know, I had a conversation with him a while back and I maybe sort of kinda got a user profile? I thought it might come in handy one day.”

“Traffic footage of us on the way to the loft?” she bounced back.

“Who’s going to check? There’s hours and hours and _hours_ of the stuff, and if they’re not looking for you specifically they won’t even request the files. Most of it gets auto-deleted after a while, too.”

“CCTV of us walking into the apartment building? Just,” Chloe said, blowing out a sigh “I don’t know, guys.”

“The department said at that at first glance the loft looked like it was filled with possibly stolen goods,” Dan chipped in, slowly, “When they called earlier. If it was, Pierce wouldn’t have wanted cameras on that stuff. I doubt there was anything rigged up around the area. Those other guys you mentioned weren’t there either. Other than Pierce, everyone was long gone.”

“The crime scene might be confusing for the person who processes it,” said Ella, “but it won’t be damming for us. We could potentially make this work.”

Lucifer had been watching the byplay, having moved to sit on the piano stool, facing them. He’d stolen half her sandwich when she wasn’t looking, and she shot him a look.

“And what happens when someone asks Lucifer the wrong question? He won’t lie. If we get cross-examined, we’re screwed.” 

“You wound me, Detective,” Lucifer said, not actually looking that wounded. “I’d think of something, I assure you.”

Chloe closed her eyes, buried her face in her hands, and counted to three. 

“Alright,” she said, opening back up again, “Alright. So we were never there, and we’re still on the hunt. We still have to connect Pierce to Charlotte’s death, clearly, and get enough evidence that he’s the Sinnerman so that we can pass off his network to the anti-gang team.” 

“Well, I may be some help with that, Detective,” said Lucifer, slowly. “Because I’ve been thinking about - well, about, this” he continued, and reached into his pocket, pulling out Maze’s knife. Karambit, Chloe remembered. “And about how Pierce got access to it.”

“Is that - is that Maze’s?” asked Dan, eyeing it off. Then his eyes went wide again as he had some sort of realisation. Chloe looked over at him, but he just mouthed ‘later’ and shook his head.

“Well, it’s technically mine, but yes, Maze takes custody of it for the most part,” said Lucifer, ignoring all of this. “She tends to keep it with her. Which is why I’m so curious about how Pierce got his grubby little paws on it.”

Chloe’s eyes widened too. “I tried to call her earlier, but didn’t get a response,” she said. “If Pierce had her knife - where’s Maze?”

“That is the question, Detective,” said Lucifer, spinning the karambit between his fingers, over and under and over again, “That is the question _indeed.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _very_ tentatively marking this as a WIP, if only because the file for this fic keeps growing longer every time I look at it. I still make no promises as to future updates - but let's see where this goes! Yet again, a thanks for all the lovely comments - you're half the motivation to keep this going, so thank _you_.
> 
> A shoutout to [CodenameCarrot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580324) for the coding required to add emoji! You're a lifesaver.
> 
> I don’t post much, but I’m [on tumblr.](https://inclines.tumblr.com) ♥


	4. Chapter 4

They’d put together a game plan. 

Dan and Ella had left to head back to the precinct, taking the slumbering hitman with them. He was a living, breathing piece of evidence that Pierce wasn’t all that he seemed, and for all that he wasn’t likely to talk, they couldn’t keep him at the penthouse any longer. There was still a risk that someone would come for him or that he’d try to escape - and though with Lucifer here that risk was low, they had to leave sooner or later, and the sleeping pills would wear off _eventually_. 

Sure, there was always the chance he would say that they’d gone to meet Pierce, had shot him, that he’d seen Lucifer’s wings - but she already knew that no-one would believe him. _She_ wouldn’t have believed him. People spouting things like that had always seemed to just _happen_ around Lucifer and the department was not only used to it by now, but also equally used to dismissing it. Sure, there’d been the confrontation between Pierce and Lucifer earlier - but Charlotte had just died. People’s tempers were running high. It was explainable. 

It helped that Lucifer had flown them from the scene. It would be hard to prove that they’d been at the loft at the time of death considering the distances involved. 

Dan had promised her that he’d take the files that Charlotte had put together and work out a way to explain how they knew about the situation without implicating themselves, and she trusted him. Pierce might have had his people in their ranks, but if they got it dealt with at a high enough level, there’d be too many eyes on the case for them to rock the boat by pulling the investigation. And with Marcus dead, there’d be no orders from the Sinnerman network until a new leader was found. If there _were_ further corrupt cops in the ranks they’d likely keep their heads down for now. 

Then there was still Steve Chamberlain, the guy that Pierce had tried to frame for Charlotte’s murder. He’d lawyered up, as they’d suggested he should do, but she knew that he’d co-operate with them to try and clear his name. 

Dan and Ella had it in hand. The ball had started rolling, the case had gained steam. But they still needed more proof, something solid. 

All of which left her and Lucifer to track down Maze. 

 

They were still at the penthouse for now - Lucifer had excused himself to go get changed from his ruined clothes, and she had a moment to breathe, listening to him move about in the other room. 

So much had changed, but equally, so much hadn’t. 

He was Lucifer. But he was also _Lucifer_. She had her proof at last. 

He featured in a million stories, from the oldest of the old to the newest of the new. He was embedded into the _language_ that they used - speak of the devil, devil may care, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t…

But that was the thing, wasn’t it. She did know him, and she knew she knew _him_ , not the stories, and he wasn’t -

He wasn’t evil. She knew that, it was as rock solid to her understanding of him as knowing that the sky was blue. Annoying sometimes, definitely. Prone to making rash decisions, sure. But also surprisingly kind, and funny, and - she loved him. 

He’d looked so afraid when she’d seen him. 

Lucifer wandered back out of the walk in closet, fixing his cufflinks as he approached her. He still had this slight hesitancy to him - buried, not obvious, but she could still sense that he was still on ever so slightly on edge, had been this whole time, as if he was waiting for the other shoe drop and for her to flee. Not that he’d say as much, but she could tell.

He came to a halt in front of her, spreading his arms slightly, showing her his outfit. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that he’d never changed - he was still in the same white shirt, dark jacket, red pocket square, but now sans blood and bullet holes. 

“Good as new,” he said, grinning at her, dropping his arms back down. 

“You always look good,” she said, feeling weird that she could say it now, out loud, now that they were - something. Not like they’d had much time to discuss their relationship change. 

“Not always, Detective, as you’ve seen,” he said, his grin turning crooked and suddenly insecure. There was that flare of - hesitancy, again.

She grabbed his hand, held it. 

“I mean it,” she said. “You always look good.”

He stared at her, then looked away. His fingers flexed against her hand, a tiny movement, but he didn’t pull back. His throat worked again, as if he was going to say something but then thought better of it. 

“Anyway,” he said after a second, looking at her again, visibly dismissing it. “I was thinking - I wasn’t the only one to have inconvenient holes in my clothing. We’d still have to explain the hole in your blouse, especially as you can still see the bullet through it when it’s in the right light.”

Chloe looked down, dropping his hand to pull back her shirt and check. The bullet stared back at her. She’d almost forgotten it was there, the bruise bothering her much less since the painkillers had kicked in. 

“Oh,” she said. “Right. But - Lucifer, we don’t have the time to drive over to mine or for me to get changed - we need to track down Maze. If something happened to her, we need to move sooner rather than later.” 

“I,” he said, stopped, and then continued, “I wasn’t suggesting that we drive. If you allow me to - if you allow me to fly you there, we could be there in an instant, and then back here shortly after.”

She stared at him. “Lucifer, you almost collapsed last time you - you flew,” she said, still unsure how this was actually her life right now. “From what I can tell, you are in _no_ position to fly _anywhere_ , let alone just for me to get a shirt.” 

“There’s no need for concern, Detective. My wings are fine, now,” he said. “I heal quickly. And Amenadiel’s little intervention earlier provided some extra time in which I could leave your radius safely, which sped up the process enormously.”

“What?” Chloe said, suddenly entirely lost, “Radius? What do you mean?”

He gave a look that suggested he hadn’t quite meant to say that.

“Ah,” he said. “This may be a little hard to explain. Right. For context, early in our partnership, I told you to shoot me,” he said.

“Yes, Lucifer, I remember,” said Chloe, “Quite vividly, as a matter of fact. What does that have to do with this?”

“Well, I found out something on that day - that around you - I’m - mortal. I _bleed_. It’s definitely been a novel experience, I can tell you.”

Chloe found her world spinning around once more, but yet another thing clicked into place.

“Vulnerable,” she said, “I had that conversation with you about being vulnerable and then you ghosted me for like two weeks. Was that _related_ to this - mortality thing?”

“Ah. Yes.” he said, uncomfortable. 

“But - how? Why? And why me? How close do you have to be? And - again, why?”

“Nevermind all that,” said Lucifer. She couldn’t tell if he was avoiding the issue, or just didn’t want to discuss it right now. “You were right earlier when you said that time was of the essence, but still, we should probably get you changed into something that’s less bullet ridden. If you’ll allow me?” he asked, holding out his hand to her, palm up. 

She weighed up letting it slide it for a second, and then let it be. The list of things for later was getting longer and longer, but he wasn’t wrong about her shirt and they _did_ need to be quick. 

“Alright,” she said, nodding. “My apartment it is, then.” 

She took his hand again, and he used it to guide her in close. She couldn’t help but press a brief kiss against as his neck as he arranged her, held on to her. She felt a tremor run through him at the touch, but he didn’t say anything.

 _Light, pressure, disorientation._ She blinked, and they were gone. 

 

They landed in her bedroom. 

She shook her head, blinking away the afterimage of the light that had surrounded her. True to his word, it had only taken a second, and he’d taken her to right where she needed to be.

She pulled back from him, looking around her room.

It was if nothing had changed. It still looked the same since she’d left it last, since before - everything. 

“Guess this explains how you could get into my house all those times,” she said, one more thing suddenly making more sense. “I always wondered how you could be so quiet about it.”

“Well, not every time,” he said, looking down at her, “I do mostly use the front door, you know.”

“Yeah, my _locked_ front door,” she said, teasing. “I still don’t know how you do that, by the way. Do you have - magic lock picking skills or something?” 

“Well, in a way,” he said, “I can get people - or things - to open up to me, or to turn on.” He grinned at her, at the innuendo, and she rolled her eyes. “In either sense of the word. Just one of my many charms. Opening up includes locks, or restraints, by the way, and is generally how I get into places. Or out of them.” 

“Huh,” she said. “That’s - actually really cool.” 

“What, turning people on?” he said, eyebrows raised at her, teasing back “You already knew all about _that_ , Detective. Surely it doesn’t come as a surprise to you now.”

She snorted at him, and then started to shoo him out of the room. 

“Anyway,” she said “I’m going to get changed. Go wait out in the kitchen, or something, I’ll be there soon.”

He left, but not without one last grin at her. She closed the door behind him, rolling her eyes as she did. Somehow, it just felt - normal. 

She relaxed, just a little. 

She got changed, swapping out her now ruined vest for a new one as she did. Two of them had shown up to her personal address a while ago - slim, fit exactly to her, and from a quick search of the brand, _very_ expensive. 

She knew it was Lucifer who had sent them - he was the only one who would have, but when she tried to ask him about them, he evaded her questions. Didn’t lie, just didn’t answer her. She’d dropped it at the time, but had kept the vests - part of her thought that she couldn’t possibly accept them, but - she’d been oddly touched by the gesture, too. She knew it was his way of telling her that he’d wanted her to be safe.

When she’d been getting ready the other morning, something had told her to put one on, to be prepared. 

She was glad that she had.

New vest and new shirt both now on, she walked back out to find that Lucifer was on the phone, talking to someone. 

“We’ll be right around,” he said, waiting for a response, before “Of course. See you later.”

He hung up, and tapped his phone against his lips, thinking. 

“Lucifer?” 

“That was Linda,” he said, turning to her, looking pensive. “Maze turned up on her doorstep a little while ago, in - not the best of states. She was letting me know, and asking what had happened.” 

“Is Maze still with her? Is she at her office?” asked Chloe. This did make things easier - now that they had a solid idea of where Maze was, that she was alive. 

“Yes, and yes,” said Lucifer. “I told her we’d be round.” 

“Mmm,” said Chloe, thinking. “Back to Lux, pick up the car, and then go? We can’t just appear in the middle of Linda’s office, as much as - flying - would save us time.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said. He held his hand back out to her again. “Shall we?”

 

They arrived at Linda's office a little while later, pulling up out the front. The car ride over had been mostly quiet. She was still bursting with questions that she wanted to ask, but she’d stuck to idle chit chat instead, still very aware of the undercurrent of tension that Lucifer had. She’d have her chance after all of this, she knew. 

Linda opened the door as they arrived, before they could knock. 

“Thank you so much, here’s your tip -” she started to say, before trailing off, realising who was at the door. 

They looked at her, Lucifer raising his eyebrows and Chloe just confused.

“Oh.” she said, a blush rising in her cheeks “Sorry. We ordered food while we were waiting and I thought it was the delivery person. Please, come in,” she said, standing back. Chloe entered first and Lucifer followed her, crowding into the small room. 

Linda’s office was in disarray, an open first aid kit on the table and the remnants of what had clearly been a medical emergency scattered around it, blood soaking into discarded bandages and cloth. 

Maze, though, didn’t look too bad - certainly not as bad as what the evidence around her suggested. She was sitting up, on the couch, cleaning a blade with an antiseptic wipe. She had a cut on her forehead, a black eye, and a wrap around her arm, but otherwise _looked_ fine, at least at first glance.

“Decker,” she said, acknowledging her, and then with a slight edge behind it, “Lucifer”. 

“Maze,” he said back, his eyes somewhat hard. “You certainly look like you’ve had some fun.”

“Yeah, well. You should see the other guys.”

“I’m sure.”

There was a moment between them that Chloe couldn’t quite understand, some kind of communication going on. She suddenly remembered the last time that she’d seen them speak they hadn’t left on good terms, how self destructive Maze had been recently.

They seemed to come to some kind of understanding, not that she knew what it was, and they broke eye contact. 

“Thanks for calling us, Linda,” Chloe said, not commenting on what had just happened, turning to her from where she’d been watching the other two, “You saved us from having to hunt Maze down, which could have taken a while.”

“Of course,” said Linda. “But if you don’t mind me asking - what on earth is all of this about? Maze told me some things, but - you were looking for her? Has something happened?” 

“What _hasn’t_ happened,” Chloe muttered under her breath, sitting down on the couch. Lucifer had moved to go hover by the window, and Linda had taken a position in her usual chair. 

“Yeah. Yeah, something happened, it’s been - a long few days, actually. How much do you already know?”

Linda flicked a glance to Lucifer that she couldn’t interpret, and he gave her a small nod, barely moving his head. Her eyes widened. 

“I know what Maze told me, and a little besides,” she said, warily. Chloe glanced between her and Lucifer, trying to work it out, but Linda continued “Why don’t you tell me what _you_ know, and we’ll start from there?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at them, but Maze took that moment to place her blade down, chipping in.

“It’s about Pierce, isn’t it,” she said, “That _bastard._ ”

“Yeah,” said Chloe, “It is. Wait - I thought you _liked_ him, Maze? You were certainly enthusiastic about our engagement, you - you organised the bachelorette party and everything?” 

“Let’s just say I had a change of heart,” she said, her fingers flexing as if gearing up for a fight, expression flat. 

“Yes, well, Maze, that’s partially what we’re here to talk to you about,” said Lucifer from the corner, watching her. “Because, see, Pierce had an interesting little addition to his arsenal that could only have come from one person.”

He pulled the knife out, showed it to her. 

“So you may _say_ that you had a change of heart, Mazey, but I’m still not so sure. After all, there is a bit of a history here. First you were working with Amenadiel. Then there was that whole _thing_ that you had going on with Pierce. So I’m just. not. certain. that I can trust you anymore, Mazikeen. So I would start talking, if I were you, and start talking _now._ ” 

There was a tension in the air, almost palpable, a physical thing, Chloe and Linda caught in the crossfire as he stared across the room. Maze grinned at him, but not happily - more baring her teeth with an upwards tilt to her mouth than anything that resembled a smile. 

“I didn’t give it to him,” she said. “And the intent was never to kill _you_.”

“Right.” He said, nodding but not buying it. “You’re not exactly selling this. I would try harder.”

Chloe had taken the clues that they’d dropped, put them together. “Maze?” she asked, turning to her, “What does he mean? You were working with him? What?”

Maze’s grin disappeared, looking unhappy. “Yeah,” she said shortly. “But he changed the terms of the deal, so I paid him a visit. He knocked me out with a sedative. _That’s_ when he must have taken the knife,” she said, spitting it at Lucifer. “I woke up in some factory on the outskirts of town. He said he’d go after Linda. I ran from there to here, I haven’t _been_ anywhere else, and I don’t know _what_ he’s doing now.”

“Oh, he’s not doing _anything_ now,” said Lucifer, still watching her with the self composure of a predator. “At least not on this plane of existence. He’s dead. Courtesy of this very blade I hold in my hand, as a matter of fact, but not before he tried to kill both me _and_ the Detective.”

“He what?” burst out Linda, looking at both of them. “He tried to kill you? Are you both okay? I mean, I have the first aid kit here if you -”

“No need, Doctor,” Lucifer cut across. “We’re fine. Now. My wings were a bit of a mess earlier, but they’ve since healed.”

Linda nodded, muttering a ‘right’ under her breath, but she didn’t look confused. Chloe, feeling a pit open up under her feet again as her stomach dropped down to the floor, suddenly understood the glance that they’d shared earlier. 

“You knew?” she said, aiming it to Linda, not mad at _her_ , but just confirming. “You knew? All this time? You knew.”

Linda winced. It was all the yes that she needed. 

Chloe rounded on Lucifer, getting properly riled up now. 

“You are unbelievable. Literally _un._ believable. I have asked you for - years for some kind of proof - and you told your _therapist_ but not me? _How_ long have we worked together? _How_ many times have I asked you? But no. You tell her, instead.” She drew out a ragged breath. Linda was frozen in her chair. “No offense, Linda,” said Chloe, trying to get her footing back. “I’m not mad at _you._ ”

Linda was keeping out of it, but was watching her closely, warily.

“None taken,” she said. 

Lucifer had shrunk into himself, hunched shoulders marring the line of his suit, not meeting her eyes. 

“I did try,” he offered, as if trying to calm her down, “I did - I tried to show you earlier, in the precinct, when my wings returned. Remember the voicemail? I was going to show you after the whole debacle on the Santa Monica Pier - and then I woke up in the desert. Kidnapped. But I still - I still tried to show you when I got back, remember?”

“Okay, fine, I’ll believe you,” she said, still mad, “you ‘tried’,” she air quoted the word, “but that’s not the same thing as _showing_ me. Why - Lucifer - it’s - _why_? Didn’t you trust me?”

Her heart, already shattered by the events of the past two or so days, felt as if it’d been stomped on further, ground into dust.

“Detective - I - of course I trust you. It just - it didn’t work,” he said, flustered, and it wasn’t the most miserable that she’d ever seen him, but it was close. “I did try to show you the truth, I swear it - but - it didn’t work. I couldn’t show you my face, I didn't know _why_ at the time, but I couldn’t. I tried. And I’ve never lied to you, Chloe. Ever”. His voice broke a little at the last. 

Chloe took a deep breath in, deep breath out. Trying to calm herself.

Maze muttered something under her breath that she didn’t catch, and Chloe turned to her, furious again, calm gone.

“And you. You were working with him? Was there _anyone_ who didn’t know about Pierce? About all of this? About you?”

Silence met her words. 

“Who else?” she asked. “Who else knows?”

“Pierce knew about me, about Maze and the rest of us,” Lucifer said, still almost shrinking back from her. “I was trying - trying to help him break his immortality curse, originally. And - Charlotte knew, although that was only a very recent development.”

“Charlotte knew?” she said. “You - you -” she broke off, strangled, trying to wrestle her emotions back down. _I cannot punch the devil in the face. I cannot punch the devil in the face. I cannot punch the devil in the face_ …

It was tempting.

“Wait, _knew_?” asked Linda, blinking, catching the past tense. “Did something happen to Charlotte?” 

Lucifer’s eyes moved to hers, straightening a little, though still wary. 

“Oh,” he said “You don’t know. Yes. Cain - Cain killed her. He was aiming for my brother instead, but Charlotte - I think she took the bullet for him.”

“Cain tried to kill Amenadiel?” Linda asked, astounded, “He killed Charlotte?” 

Tears welled up in her eyes, her hand raising to her chest. She was still composed, but Chloe could tell that the news had hit her hard too. “Why?”

“Well, he was trying to kill Amenadiel to piss Dad off, get his mark back. Which was a stupid idea, never would have worked. Charlotte just got caught in the crossfire, from what I can tell.” 

“He went after Amenadiel again?” asked Maze, much quieter than earlier. 

“Yes.”

“His mark?” asked Chloe, filtering through what Lucifer had told her long before, before she knew that it was all true, to everything she didn’t pay attention to at the time. Then she shook her head. “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but - we don’t have time for this,” she said. “We still have a ticking clock in the background, we _need_ to get proof that Pierce was the Sinnerman and that he killed Charlotte. But this conversation is _not_ over,” she pointed her finger at Lucifer, who had gone from giving off predator vibes to something that was downright desolate instead. 

Linda had blinked back her tears at this stage, trying to pull herself together. She held up her hands to them, as if to indicate _calm._

“Why don’t you come back,” she said, to her and Lucifer, “when this is over. You can do a group session together, talk it out. I can mediate. As a friend, but also as someone who’s gone through the whole celestials-are-actually-real thing before.”

Chloe caught the grateful look that Lucifer gave Linda, and thought about it. 

“Fine,” she said. “Fine. Thank you, Linda. We’ll organise a time to discuss this.”

She caught Lucifer’s eye. He still looked spooked, like a horse about to bolt. 

“I’m not running,” she told him. “I promise. I meant what I said before. But we need to have a conversation around communication.” 

He nodded once, shortly, not saying anything. 

Maze had stayed quiet, waiting for a gap in the conversation. 

“Glad _that’s_ over,” she said. Linda shot her a look. “What. You all already know I’m not good with this emotion stuff. But revenge? That, I can do.”

She picked up her knife again, used it to illustrate her points. 

“I know where Pierce’s little hideout was. And I also happen to know that he had cameras rigged up inside, _everywhere_. If we can get to the files, we can prove that he was connected to the location, and it should hold more than enough secrets to bring him down. Plus, I may have a few things of my own that I can provide. A few recordings I made, just in case.”

She brought her knife down, about to slam it into the table for emphasis before realising who it belonged to. The blade stopped a hair’s breadth away from the wood, and instead she placed it down gently, looking - sheepish. 

Linda smiled at her. Maze smiled back.

“Let’s start the hunt.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working title for this chapter: Chloe and Linda Need A Holiday 2k18
> 
> As ever, a massive _thanks_ for the lovely comments. You're the reason this is more than a one-shot! ♥


	5. Chapter 5

The loading bay was suspiciously busy for an abandoned factory. 

“They’re running,” said Chloe, watching as a few figures in the distance stood around the back of a semi-trailer, one of them animatedly waving to someone driving a forklift. It could have been a normal scene at a normal worksite, if it wasn't for the fact that they knew it shouldn't be here. The figures even had safety vests on. 

Lucifer swapped positions with her in order to get a better look, peering out from behind their cover, and then hummed in agreement. 

“And it looks like his little syndicate is moving some _expensive_ hydroponics equipment, too. My my, Pierce _did_ have his fingers in a lot of pies, didn't he?”

They couldn't see everything from their vantage point, but it was enough. 

After their trip to Linda’s office, Maze had left with them to find the hideout that Pierce had been using. She'd remembered the route she’d taken and even the name plastered on the outside of the building - the Orange County Register, a defunct paper mill sandwiched between a freeway, a truck rental company, and suburbia. 

It was the kind of place that felt like it should be creepy but wasn't - it looked less like a traditional plant than she’d imagined, more of a transposed concrete-office-suite, though that impression had faded once they made their way around to the docks and Chloe realised just how big this place was. Exterior office space aside, this was a proper industrial site. 

Maze had scoped it out, reported back, and then settled in to secure the perimeter, allowing them to take it over from there.

Chloe and Lucifer planned to get evidence. Maze planned to make sure no-one escaped with it when they did. 

“Maze said that there were at least fifteen of Pierce’s gang here” Chloe said, pulling back from the side of the building and starting to make her way to the other side of the complex. Lucifer followed her, the very picture of relaxed nonchalance, though she could see the line of tension running through him well enough to know he was anything but. 

“Yes, and if you haven't noticed, the entrance gate is that way,” he said, jerking his thumb behind him. 

“No,” said Chloe, still walking away, watching the area around them carefully. “It’s too exposed, and there are people who could see us. These kinds of places always have more than the one entrance, and this wasn't the one Maze said she'd used.”

Actually, Maze had given them a few suggestions on how to get in and out of the place, but most of them involved physical feats that Chloe wasn't quite sure she could replicate. Even with Lucifer’s help.

“I could just fly us in,” he suggested as if he’d read her mind, still following a few steps behind. 

She thought about it for a second. She was tempted, and it could give them an advantage, but -

“We have to assess the situation,” she said. “We can't just appear in the middle of the factory without knowing what's going on in there. Maze gave us the basics, but they’re clearly in the middle of a packdown operation, and I'd much prefer getting in and getting out without alerting anyone. Honestly, we shouldn't even be here without calling for backup first.” 

She debated calling Dan again. They’d had a brief update from him - a text simply saying ‘they believe us’ - but that had been all. 

“And you think - what - that sneaking in will make us less obvious than just appearing, getting what we need, and then going? It’d be much quicker” Lucifer said, confused.

She looked askance at him. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s exactly what I think. And also, this way I won’t have to explain how you appeared out of nowhere _on camera_ , the files of which _will_ be analysed by the rest of the department. Lucifer, that footage is the whole point of why we’re here. We can’t just have you - with your - there’d be a lot of questions to answer, is what I’m saying.”

She knew there’d be questions anyway, but at least they’d be ones that she’d know how to answer. Chloe knew that they should wait for backup, that this was yet another thing that went against protocol, but the clock was still ticking, and she wasn’t about to let Lucifer go in on his own - which she knew, without a doubt, that he’d do if she didn’t go with him. She wasn’t sure if this was better, but there’d be no way that he could walk into this situation on his own without repercussions for his job afterwards. Even _with_ his ability to charm her superiors. None of that had stopped him from doing what he wanted to before, but this case was going to get a lot more attention than usual, and she - she didn’t want him to be banned from working with her, with the rest of the LAPD. It was a risk she wasn't willing to take. 

“Alright,” said Lucifer, raising his eyebrows at her, acquiescing. “So. How do we approach this.”

They’d made it around to the other side of the building at this stage, away from the trucks and, hopefully, the people. 

And, as Maze had said, there was the door she’d used to get out - pulled shut, but visibly broken off its hinges if anyone cared to look closer. Apparently, no-one had. 

“We go in” she said. 

 

The interior of the factory more than made up for all of the creepy that the outside wasn’t. The sunlight didn’t penetrate from the windows this far in and the building’s overhead lights were on low, adding to the gloom rather than chasing it away. Only the occasional industrial lamp provided light. Machines and other equipment lurked around them, large and imposing. 

They followed the path in front of them, re-walking the route Maze had taken, following her directions. For all that the loading bay was suspiciously busy, this place was suspiciously quiet. Lucifer just strolled forward, but Chloe stuck to the shadows where she could, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. 

She became more cautious by the minute. Something didn't seem right. 

After a long uninterrupted walk, their first sign that others had been here were the bodies on the ground. 

Poker chips were scattered everywhere.

So were knives.

Maze had remained tight lipped about what her deal with Pierce was, but she’d given them the details of her capture and escape, including those of the people who had tried to stop her - and the consequences that they’d faced. This had to be them. 

“Well,” Lucifer said, nudging one corpse with his shoe. “She wasn’t lying, we really _should_ see the other guys. I’d almost feel sorry that they had to face her, if it wasn’t for. Well. Everything.”

Chloe paused, watching him.

“Lucifer,” she said, under her breath, barely a whisper. “In, out, remember? We don’t have time for commentary.”

He ignored her, squatting down to poke through the pockets of the bodies in front of him. “Just searching for evidence,” he said, pulling out a wallet. “Amongst other things. I imagine that these gentlemen would probably be of interest to the police, if we knew who they were. And, oh, look,” he said, pulling out a small bag from a jacket and grinning at her. “Delightful. Didn’t they know not to get high on their own supply?” 

Chloe rolled her eyes.

There was a noise in the distance, a brief muffled _thump_ of something hitting the ground. 

She froze, slowly unholstering her gun, ears straining to hear anything else. 

Nothing. 

No movement. 

When there didn’t seem to be anything further, she let out a breath, giving a pointed look to Lucifer. She put her weapon away, wanting her hands free just in case.

“Don’t worry, Detective” he said, though much quieter this time, rising from his squat. He was listening. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She knew he wouldn’t, but that wasn’t the point.

“I don’t want anything to happen to _you_ , either, Lucifer,” she said, still barely above a whisper. “In fact I don’t want _anything_ to happen to _either_ of us. So if we can…?”

She jerked her head, indicating the space around them.

Lucifer gave her a weird look again, but nodded, moving to flank her.

“There,” said Chloe, looking around, pointing where they could see an area that had clearly been lived in, a few couches and shelves and two screens showing a live feed from the cameras. Just as Maze had promised. 

She crept closer, spotting the laptop hooked into the displays. It was open, on and not locked, and she breathed a sigh of relief that _that_ , at least, was one hurdle she didn’t have to worry about.

It was still oddly quiet inside, muted, for all the bustle that they’d seen outside. It was possible that all the goods currently being loaded for transport were in a different section - another warehouse, maybe - but it felt off. It felt too easy, and every passing second, Chloe felt her shoulders tighten, the warning voice in the back of her mind starting to get louder and louder - until it was blaring like a klaxon, and she suddenly realised why.

“Didja really think it’d be that simple?”

A voice from behind them, not at all friendly. Even worse, it was accompanied by the sounds of knives being unsheathed as more people emerged from the shadows, about seven or eight in total.

She froze in place, lifting her hands up. 

“Well, yes, actually,” said Lucifer, turning on his heel, casually jamming his hands in his pockets. “In fact, it still might be. Fair warning, you really don’t know who you’re playing with here.”

“Lucifer,” Chloe hissed at him, but he didn’t respond. 

There was a derisive snort from someone, though one of the men in the crowd went white, blood draining from his face. He looked familiar, and Chloe suddenly realised that he was one of the men from the loft that morning, now sans gun and sporting a few bruises. 

“You,” he breathed, backing away, almost tripping over his own feet, half stumbling backwards. “I’m not sticking around for this” he said, turning tail and fleeing.

There were a few looks exchanged between the others, now slightly more wary, but the original speaker piped up again, apparently not spooked at all. Cocky, instead.

“We knew you were here. After that bitch broke out earlier, we figured someone would come investigate. We tracked you from the start, just wanted you to get in here further so no-one would hear what came next. Or see. Out of range of the cameras. No-one’s going to know what happened.”

He leered.

Chloe focused on her breathing again. It’d been a long few days and she was exhausted - she was in no position to fight. The only hope was to somehow de-escalate this before it got nasty, but looking at the men in front of her, she wasn’t sure how.

Lucifer was motionless, the same kind of purposeful stillness that she’d felt him slip into back at the loft when Pierce had first revealed himself. The slowed movements of someone who knew _exactly_ where they were in space and how they were going to move, of someone who had complete confidence in their capabilities. The serenity of a big cat before it pounced. 

He smiled wider. 

“You’re right,” he said. “No one _is_ going to know what happened. Or at least - believe you, when you tell them what happened.”

More glances between the others. Chloe wasn’t sure what had happened between Lucifer and the gunmen earlier, but she knew that the man who fled had likely told the others _something_ about that morning, and considering the prior state of Lucifer’s wings, she had an idea of what that might be. 

“Detective,” he said, not looking at her. “I would recommend that you run when I tell you to. I’ve got this.”

Chloe knew she should. But she didn’t want to leave him here. It was the loft all over again, and as she told him before, she wasn’t running.

“I’m not leaving you,” she said, standing up straighter. She didn’t look at him, but she didn’t need to.

“Detective,” he said, throwing her a glance.

The other men saw their opportunity, and moved.

They didn’t have guns. 

They may have had a chance if they did.

Chloe unholstered her weapon and let off a few shots, wary of the danger of ricocheting bullets off the machinery around them. One man went down, gasping.

Lucifer took care of the rest. 

His moves were serpentine, fluid, and brutally efficient. Nothing was for show - he just took the minimum number of steps needed to knock someone else out or evade what was thrown his way, using their own movements against them, completely at ease. It was like a dance - but one that he was winning, and quickly.

She’d never seen him move like this before, and in that half a second she took to stare, she was grabbed from behind.

“Don’t you even _think_ about making a threat against her,” Lucifer said, punching out the last person aiming for him, turning to focus on her and the guy that was holding her in place. He looked furious.

“Or what?” was sneered against her ear, a male voice, rough. Chloe tried to stomp on his instep, struggling, but he adjusted his grip on her and stayed upright. 

Lucifer seemed to internally debate something, and then -

“Or this,” he said, and grinned.

And in the blink of an eye, she was looking at his other face again, into suddenly fiery eyes.

The man behind her screamed, long and loud. 

He let go, and ran. The could hear his panicked shouting trail off into the distance. 

It fell back to being quiet.

Chloe caught her breath, rubbed at her now deafened ear. 

His other face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving just the Lucifer she was used to. He hadn’t frozen in place again, which was good, but he still looked a bit hesitant as he looked Chloe up and down, making sure she was okay.

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a once over of her own. He seemed fine. “Is that - is that how usually how people respond? To - to you?”

“That, or sobbing” he said. “Or freezing. Or some combination of the three. None of which you seem to be doing at this moment, I should add.”

“Why should I?” asked Chloe. His fear about her reaction made a lot more sense, now. She was still angry, but - she think she got it. She reached out and touched his shoulder, looking around at the bodies that they’d added to the pile that was already there. She could see them breathing, which was a positive, but they’d likely be out for a while. “I’ve seen it before. It’s not that scary.” 

He gave her another weird look, which she ignored. 

“I never knew you could fight like that” she said instead. He’d just taken down five men in fewer minutes. 

Lucifer shook himself a little, breaking out of whatever he was thinking. “Who do you think taught Maze?”

She snorted. “I didn’t.” 

Lucifer smiled down at her, briefly, and then looked back over at where the computer lay untouched by the interruption. He nodded towards it, stepping over a prone body and walked further into the factory. “Shall we disregard the rest of the plan, now, Detective? So much for sneaking in and sneaking out. Now the alarm has been well and truly raised, I think we need to get this and then go.”

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s get the computer and get out of here, before someone else comes.”

Chloe searched for any extra evidence that she could grab, but - other than the rocks on the shelves around them, there wasn’t much. 

She pulled on her gloves and picked up the laptop, careful not to accidentally lock the screen, and then they turned, retraced their steps. 

They left the bodies behind them. 

 

They emerged to find a few squad cars pulled up out the front of the mill, lights flashing. She hadn’t seen them on the camera feeds, so they must have been recent arrivals, and if Chloe looked closer she could see more in the distance, headed their way. A few officers were speaking to Maze. The man who had fled them was at her feet, gagged, and she had a few others tied up behind her. She’d clearly been busy. 

A car door opened near them, and Dan got out.

“Dan,” asked Chloe, still clutching the laptop and now confused. “What -”

“You didn’t answer your phone,” Dan said. “We rang around. Linda told us where you were. I called for backup. What were you _thinking_ , going in on your own?”

“I wasn’t alone,” she said, glancing at Lucifer. “We were fine.”

“Not what I meant,” said Dan. Not mad, but concerned. “If something had happened to you both, we wouldn’t have known. And if this place is as full of evidence as it seems, we need to secure it _now_ , before it gets cleared out.”

“So they believed you? About Pierce being more than he appeared?” Lucifer asked.

“Yeah,” said Dan. “It took a bit of convincing, but once the team working the loft came back, things escalated quickly. The file that Charlotte put together helped. And -” 

He broke off, looked between them both. 

“They found his filing cabinets,” Dan said, “Lucifer, he’d been stalking you and Maze and Amenadiel for _months_ before he came to LA. He had files on _all_ of your movements. And there was another file in there, too, for some guy called Gaudium, but we weren’t sure about who that one was for.”

Lucifer’s eyebrows raised at that, his mouth opening slightly.

“Gaudium?” he said, though the way he said it had weird harmonics to the syllables. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” said Dan. “I didn’t read the file, but that’s what it was titled.”

“I should like very much to get my hands on the details of those files, Daniel, when you get a chance.” 

Dan paused for a second, and then shrugged and said “Sure.”

Chloe took the moment to interrupt. “Dan - what did the loft team say? How’d they explain that he was - that he was dead?”

“They confirmed that at least some of the items in the loft were stolen. The running theory is that he got spooked after Charlotte was researching him, killed her, tried to liquidate his assets in order to flee, and then got caught in a fence-gone-wrong,” said Dan. “We matched the bullet from Charlotte to his _actual work-issued-gun_ , if you can believe it. I think he knew that no-one would be suspicious enough of him to test if the two were a match. That, or he thought it didn’t matter when he was going to flee anyway.”

“You’re joking,” said Lucifer. “He actually used the gun issued to him by the department? Talk about hubris.”

“Yeah,” said Dan. “I can’t quite believe it myself.”

He sounded exhausted, but satisfied. It’d been a long day for everyone but it was almost over. 

Choe held up the laptop. “We still have to get this to evidence,” she said, “It sounds like we’ve got something, but this should help, make it stick.”

“And we have to get your statements,” said Dan. “C’mon. We’re close, but we’re not there yet.”

They followed him over to the other officers, to where Maze was waiting. 

The guy at her feet looked up in horror as Lucifer walked past. 

Lucifer gave him a wink. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a thank you to the commenters - especially the repeat ones. You know who you are ♥


	6. Chapter 6

It was over.

Chloe didn’t quite know what to do with herself, now.

The laptop had been handed in and sent off, straight to the computer crimes unit to be digitally dissected. They hadn’t heard back yet about its progress and likely wouldn’t for a while, but Chloe _knew_ that they’d caught Pierce on camera, that he wouldn’t have had time to wipe the files.

And even if he had - well. They knew how to pull the data from a drive, if it hadn’t been overwritten.

They'd got him. 

The investigation had had a quick but formal change of hands. The paper mill and associated case was now under the control the gang and narcotics division, who were in a better position to take down Pierce’s network than homicide, and Chloe had been given strict orders to _go home._ Not just her, either - Dan and Ella and a few others who had worked alongside Pierce had also been gently but firmly shepherded away after they'd given their statements. They were all too close to the case, they’d been told. Go home, get some rest, and don’t come back for at least a few days. 

She’d had a lot of sympathy from other members of the team around her, a lot of quiet offers of support, and she just _knew_ that there would be some mandatory work-ordered counseling session in all their futures. She wasn’t looking forward to it. 

But it was better than being hauled in on murder charges, even in self defence, and so she rolled with it. A tiny part of her still wondered if this was the best way to handle the situation - but - if Lucifer had been dragged in for examination around Pierce’s death, it would have ended badly. He would have been as honest as ever. They wouldn’t have believed him, and there’d be more questions than she’d rightly be able to answer. 

Or rather, she’d be able to. But they’d never accept the truth. The same way that she hadn't, until today. 

She hovered around the edge of the scene, leaning against one of the patrol cars. Not quite willing to leave, though she knew that at this stage she wasn’t needed. Pierce’s men - or at least the ones that were here - had been rounded up and arrested, and the factory was a hive of activity as officer after officer taped off yet another area, found yet another piece of drug equipment or stolen item, stolen artwork, stolen jewelry. They’d hit the jackpot for quite a few unsolved crimes across the department and it seemed like the entirety of the LAPD was down here to work the area.

The sun had started to set, casting a golden glow on the buildings and warehouses around them, lengthening the shadows. Flashing red and blue light from the strobes around her bounced off the walls, adding to the surreal atmosphere. 

Lucifer joined her at the car, leaning against it, staying quiet. He was close, but had left a gap between them - one that she closed, bumping his hip with hers. 

“Hey,” she said, looking up at him. “What’d they say?”

He’d just finished giving his own statement to the team. She wondered how much he’d had to edit out, omit from the official record. How often he’d had to do that with her. 

He blew out a sigh. “They had a lot of questions about how Pierce was tied in to the earlier ‘Sinnerman’ we caught, not all of which I could answer - or answer in a way that they’d believe me, at least. But otherwise, it went - fine. Much like you and Daniel, though, they told me to go home for now.” 

“We still have a lot of paperwork to complete,” said Chloe, watching as someone walked out of the factory, gesturing at a forensic tech to come take a look at something. “That’s going to take a while, leave or no leave.” 

“You mean _you_ have a lot of paperwork to complete, Detective”. Teasing.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

He lapsed back into silence again and she took a second just to appreciate the moment. That they were both here, alive and well, when earlier those two things had been more of a question than a statement. 

The lights on the cars continued flashing. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” she said, contemplative. 

“Hmmm?”

“I had this - this realisation, earlier. About the people I’ve worked with.” 

He stiffened - she could feel the movement against her side - and realised what her wording could imply. 

“Not you,” she rushed to reassure him. “Sorry - I just - I meant - Malcolm. The guy that set up Maze with Rivers, Lieutenant Herrera. Pierce. Three corrupt cops from the same office. It can't be a coincidence.”

She counted them off her fingers as she listed them. It sounded insane, but - her gut was telling her to look into it, that this was something she should pay attention to. 

“They're not necessarily connected,” said Lucifer, following her line of thinking. “Malcolm didn’t know Pierce, as far as I’m aware, and he was out of the picture long before Pierce transferred in from Chicago.”

“I know,” said Chloe, turning to face him front on, now resting her hip against the car instead. “But the fact that they all got hired, that no-one noticed what they were doing, is. _Someone_ should have done due diligence or spotted - something.”

“So you think this goes deeper than just the three of them?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I hope not. But - there’s been a few cases recently. I just - I don’t know. I need to do more research.”

She rubbed at her face, tired enough to almost be at the other extreme again, full of a restless, jittery kind of energy.

Her adrenaline had almost exhausted itself. She'd been on a caffeine high and then passed through the caffeine crash. And more than anything at this stage, she just wanted to see Trixie and go home. A new case could wait. She could put this theory on the backburner for now.

“Right,” she said, pushing herself away from the car and stretching. “Anyway. We should probably listen to our orders and go.”

She took a couple of steps, starting to head towards the cruiser that they’d driven over in, when she realised that Lucifer wasn’t following her. 

She turned, looking back at him. He didn’t meet her gaze.

“Lucifer?” she asked. “Are you coming?”

“I -” he hesitated again, with that same touch of nervousness she’d felt from him all day. 

Chloe took a few steps back, reached out, grabbed his hands in hers. He swept his thumbs gently over hers, then stopped. 

“What?” she asked. 

“I - perhaps this isn’t the best time for this conversation.” 

Evasive. 

“Lucifer.”

For such a tall man, he should not have been able to pull off this feeling of hunched _smallness_ he was radiating. It was so unlike him that Chloe shifted to actual concern. 

“I was simply wondering if - if you wanted to continue working with me, to - be - around me. I understand today that there were special circumstances and that we were all rather caught up in the heat of the moment, but -”

“Lucifer -” she said, interrupting, and then “Lucifer! Of course I want to continue working with you - I - did I give you the impression that I didn’t?”

She felt her heart clench in her chest, her mind racing, trying to review her actions over the past day. Sure, she’d yelled at him in Linda’s office - but she’d thought she’d made it clear that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I - no. No, you didn’t, but I still know that - well. I’m me. As you’re now fully aware.”

“And?” asked Chloe, still not quite getting it.

His eyes searched her face as if he was expecting to see something, and then he relaxed, opening up, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Chloe frowned at him, reaching forward to cup his cheek briefly, and then pulled back. 

“You know - you were right. Maybe this isn’t the best time for this conversation. Come around to mine later tonight. And - promise me that you won’t run away, avoid this.” 

He nodded, and she started to move again, tugging him towards their car. “C’mon,” she said. “I’ll drop you off at yours first.”

“No need,” he said, smiling at her. “You can head directly home, Detective, I'll save you a trip. I’ll take another way back to Lux.”

He extracted his fingers from hers.

A gust of wind, and he was gone. 

 

Chloe had called her mother as soon as she’d arrived home, and had been convinced to leave Trixie with her overnight, had been told that her baby was already in bed, asleep. That she was safe. 

Chloe hung up the phone. It had been the last unfinished thing that she’d needed to worry about, the last thing to tick off her list before she could fall apart. 

She somewhat mechanically made herself eat something, then threw on her comfort clothing - a soft, worn hoodie, and slacks to match - and curled up on the couch. The TV switched on with the volume on low, a comforting background hum of nothingness. She was spent. 

Her mind kept running things over and over, unable to turn off. It was the first time she’d had to herself since this whole thing had started, and she could finally - collapse. 

She felt her eyes start to well up and over with tears.

She pressed her face into a cushion, and let them flow. 

First for Charlotte. A friend she hadn't expected to make, but someone who had surprised her, who had started to be part of the regular orbit of her life, someone she could count on. Someone who was now gone. 

Then Pierce. Who had lied to her from the beginning. Who she had agreed to marry, once. And though she’d told Ella earlier that she wasn’t responsible for his actions, and she _knew_ that to be true for her as well - she couldn’t help re-running moments in her head of red flags she’d ignored at the time, warning signs she'd dismissed.

And then there was - Lucifer. 

Who hadn’t lied to her, though he knew she didn’t believe him. Who suddenly made a lot more sense, despite the fact that the rest of her worldview had shifted around the revelation. 

Who was aggravating and egotistical, who had tied her up in knots blowing hot and cold - but - who was also kind to Trixie, who knew how she liked her coffee, who teased Dan and supported Ella and had worked by her side for what felt like forever. 

Who she loved. 

It felt like hours until she’d finally cried herself dry, to the point where she was empty, emotionally numb. 

She closed her eyes. 

In the end, it was a pretty simple decision. 

 

Lucifer came over later, as promised.

She met him at the door of her apartment. He was impeccably dressed as always, but his sharp suit didn’t hide the air of stress that he still carried. 

His gaze raked her up and down - her hair a mess, hoodie with several small holes at the edges, eyes red, makeup smeared, bags under her eyes - and he didn’t comment, not even a brief smirk. 

“Come in,” she said, stepping out of the way to let him past. “Sorry, I know I’m a wreck, but - well. You’ve seen me worse.” 

“Detective - you - you look beautiful. Always,” he said, echoing her words from before, and she knew he meant it. She felt a surge of love for him again, a tiny spot of warmth blooming in her chest. 

She closed the door behind him, turning to face him properly, clapping her hands - still clad in the hoodie - together. 

“So,” she said. 

“So,” he said, with a flicker of a smile. 

“Do you want to sit down? I'll go get out - I've got a bottle of wine, somewhere…”

She made her way to the kitchen, found both the bottle and two glasses, and came out to find Lucifer perched on the back of her sofa, as if he hadn't wanted to get too comfortable. 

“Sit,” she said, waving him at the couch. He unfolded and moved to sit properly. She joined him, next to him but turning to face him, his knees pressed against hers. 

“So, uh.” she said. “Crazy day, huh.”

He huffed a laugh. “Somewhat of an understatement, yes.” 

“And after all that mess, we never even had a chance to chat about - about what you said before.” 

She felt heady, dizzy with both exhaustion and the bubbly kind of anxiety that came from addressing the feelings that she'd hoped to long bury. Not that it had worked. 

Not that she needed to, anymore. 

His gaze sharpened, focusing only on her. 

“Yes” she said, afraid to drag out the moment, half expecting some form of interruption to barge in and ruin it. It had been that kind of day. 

“I - Yes?” 

“Yes. Lucifer - I - my world has been flipped upside down over the past day, and I know that this isn't going to be an easy process to get - everything. That there is a, a Hell. That God is real. That you're - you. I never believed in - any of that, and it's going to take a long time for me to work that into my worldview, to get all the implications, but - despite all that, the one thing that hasn't changed is - you. That I know you. And that - that I chose you, Lucifer, and that despite everything, it changes… nothing.”

He was frozen again, and even scarier, she thought she saw the edge of tears in his eyes as he stared at her. She reached for her glass of wine, took a gulp, then fiddled with the stem. 

“I -” he said, then cleared his throat. “Chloe,” he said, and then trailed off again, as if unable to finish the sentence.

“I want to do this,” she told him. “I'm _choosing_ to do this, to - start a relationship. With you. It that's what you want, I mean, I hope I haven't jumped the gun here, but I thought -” 

“Yes,” he said in reply, instantly. “Yes, that’s - I would want for nothing more. But - are you sure? Knowing everything - are you sure? I’m - well, I’m _me._ ”

It was an odd feeling, to have your heart break for someone at the same time that it was full enough of love to burst. 

“Yes,” she said. “I know you’re you. And I know that you’re a _good_ _person_ , Lucifer. Yes. Yes, I still want to do this. I’m choosing _you_.” 

His eyes flicked towards her mouth, just once. He didn’t seem to be able to say anything further.

That was okay. She didn’t need words, at this stage.

She put the wine glass on the coffee table, cupped his cheeks, and tugged him down. His mouth met hers, gently, as if asking permission. She granted it. He made a tiny, wet noise at the back of his throat, and sunk into the kiss.

It felt like an age as she sat there, in his arms, enjoying the warmth, the closeness of him. He’d always been tall, but never in a threatening way - and now he was wrapped around her, one arm at her waist, one on her back, head bent down to meet hers. She felt the sudden peace of knowing that it was _over_ , that she was in possibly the safest place that the universe had to provide - in the arms of one who loved her, and who she loved in return. She relaxed into the embrace, hands reaching up around the back of his head, fingers trailing over the short strands of hair at the nape of his neck. His breath hitched slightly, and she pressed deeper into him.

She knew it wasn’t going to be easy - he was still too used to operating on his own, and she had her own problems too. It was just dawning on her now that he’d probably lived longer than she could even _imagine_ \- how would their relationship even _work_? 

They still had a lot to work out. Still had a lot to talk about. Starting with from when they’d first met and all the things that she’d dismissed since then, all the things that he hadn’t told her. They weren’t, and never would be, an instant fix for each other’s issues, and they had a long way to go.

But for all that, they fit each other’s missing parts, provided support for what the other needed. They were _partners_. In more ways than one, now. They’d work through it, as they always had. 

_In the beginning God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. He saw that the light was good._

Morningstar. Lucifer. Lightbringer. 

And it was good. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s a wrap!
> 
> I have to say, I won’t know what to do with myself now. I’ve been writing this solid for the past week or so, fit in around full time work - I was writing in the line for coffee, on the train home, when I _got_ home...
> 
> There may or may not be more to come at this stage - I haven’t yet decided. There’s still the potential coda of the group session with Linda, and I set up a few hooks for a sequel if I want to go down that route. We’ll see. Still no promises there.
> 
> As ever, a big _thank you_ to all those that commented - for a fic that wasn’t supposed to be more than a oneshot, it definitely grew out of hand, and you have yourselves to thank. I love you all.
> 
> ♥


End file.
